The Day the Feeling Died
by Touch of Grey
Summary: A Marvel/DC crossover featuring Hulkling and Wiccan. In a Crisis, it is always those left behind who suffer the most. Kon/Tim


The day Superboy died, everyone knew.

The media first reported it three hours after the teen of steel fell, and the entire caped community knew of it barely three minutes after he drew his final breath.

Billy Kaplan and Teddy Altman were sitting in their living room not quite watching television about and hour after the event, when their apartment's buzzer sounded. Billy answered it.

"Hello?"

A cracked voice on the other end rang through the room.

"It's Tim" Billy's brow furrowed.

"Okay, I'll buzz you up." Two long minutes later, a battered and bruised Tim Drake fell through the door. The two lovers were at his side in an instant, Billy having already begun the healing spell.

"Iwanthimtogetbetter.Iwanthimtogetbetter.Iwanthimtogetbetter…"

As soon as Tim was healed enough to sit up, a shudder ran through his body. Teddy put an arm around him. "Tim? C'mon, man, what's wrong?" another shudder, then Tim spoke in the same lost, broken voice he had used before.

"Kon is dead."

Billy's hands immediately flew to his mouth, and Teddy's face went pale as they both tried to comfort their friend. Billy was the first to speak. "But, _how_?"

Tim shook his head, the thought still too much to bear. "Does it matter?! He's dead. Kon's dead. He's _gone_, Billy, and I couldn't do anything to help him." At that moment, Tim's body gave out, and he slumped against Teddy, hot tears still cascading down his cheeks.

After laying Tim out in the guest room, the two former capes sat together in the kitchen. Billy's knuckles were white as he gripped his coffee mug, and Teddy's entire body had gone a light shade of blue, his shapeshifting powers subconsciously reacting to his emotions.

"God, I can't believe, oh god, not Kon!" the young sorcerer was incoherent, nearly breaking his cup as he set it down, hands flying to his face once more. His Skrull-Kree lover tried to think of comforting words, but found he was unable. The only thoughts in his mind were-

"That could have been us." Billy looked up.

"What?"

"That could have been us, Billy. If we hadn't stopped being Hulkling and Wiccan, we would have been involved in this whole mess. Look what happened to Ted Kord. Look what happened to the _entire city_ of Bludhaven. And look at what's happened to Tim. _This_ is why we stopped being heroes, Billy. _This_ is why we left New York and the Young Avengers. I don't want us to end up like Tim and-" he broke off, finding himself unable to even say his friend's name. There was a soft groan from the other room, and both men jumped. Barely resisting the urge to go to their friend's side, the two sat, waiting for Tim to come to them. There was the quiet sound of footsteps before the living room television went on. Cautiously, the former heroes walked in, standing by the couch. They watched in transfixed horror as the first casualty report came in. Not including Superboy, the death count was in the ten thousands and rising every minute. Tim's face was buried in his hands.

"God." He choked, voice breaking. "God." Billy's face had hidden itself away in Teddy's shoulder, so his reply was muffled.

"I don't think he's in right now." Tim's laugh is strained, broken, close to tears. But its still a laugh, even if it's the most heartbreaking one any of them has ever heard.

"He's really gone. I thought that I could wake up, and it would all be a bad dream, but he's really gone. And according to the news and Dick, Bart is missing. All the other speedsters are missing, too. And Booster Gold has holed himself up in Blue Beetle's old room at the JLI headquarters. This, this, whatever it was, it's touched everyone, but it hit the Titans the hardest. Vic is basically a heap of scrap metal back at the Tower, Raven's gone interdimensional, and Gar's gone into shock. Its over, guys. There _are_ no Titans anymore. I give up." And now Tim is sobbing, crying with such ferocity that it damn near snaps Billy's heart in two.

Kon and Tim had met Billy and Teddy on Christmas Eve, when the two smaller boys had mistaken each others lovers for their own in a crowded mall, and had been friends ever since, though Billy and Tim had always shared a closer bond than the other two, for reasons both were too embarrassed to explain. But Teddy and Kon had known anyway. The two boys were just too smart for their own good, and had probably endured years of teasing because of it. Couple that with their slight, frail-looking frames and you had yourself the perfect recipe for instant brotherhood.

Billy seemed larger than usual as he folded Tim into his arms, the two falling against each other and crying. In a vaguely perverse way, Teddy was reminded of himself and Billy at his mother's funeral. It seemed like the three of them didn't have true memories, just endless lines of funerals to look back on. He didn't want to intrude, god only knows he didn't, but it would be impossible to just get up and walk away. Instead, Teddy shut off the television, erasing the image of Kon-El in his old leather jacket, and placed his own arms around them both. Maybe they'd sat there for hours, maybe they'd sat there for seconds, it didn't matter once a voice crackled over Tim's comlink.

"Robin? Robin, do you copy? This is Oracle. We've found Kid Flash, I repeat, we've found Kid Flash. Robin, are you there?"

Tim dove for his communicator, replying, "I've got you loud and clear here, Babs. Send me a location, I'll be there as fast as I can."

Billy and Teddy shared a sad look behind his back. Good old predictable Tim, who in times of tragedy would bury himself in his work. Someday, these methods would kill him, or at the very least cause a few painful ulcers.

"Sorry, guys. Duty calls" Tim didn't look half as broken as he had when he'd first fallen through their door. His emotions were once again hidden under the mask of Robin, to be uncovered at a later, more convenient date. He sighed as he prepared to leave. "I swear, all this is going to kill me someday. I'll, I'll see you at the memorial, right?" he didn't even wait for an answer, just swept out the window in a flash of cape.

Later, as Billy pondered Tim's words, he wondered, had his friend actually looked _happy_ at the prospect of dying in battle? No, he thought, shaking his head. It must have just been a trick of the light. But looking back on the event over ten years later, Billy was still sure of one thing;

The day Kon-El was shuffled out of the mortal coil was undoubtedly the day that all the feeling inside of Tim Drake up and left to join him.

Fini

Ah, yes, yet another of my Teddy/Billy-Kon/Tim fics. I have a confession to make. I've never actually read Infinite Crisis, but I have heard terrible things about it that just make me want to hide in my closet stroking soft furry things.

Blue Beetle, for instance.

The Blue and the Gold is what made Justice League International such a great series, and now they're both gone. Though, according to the new Booster series, they're both going to be back, which is a veryveryvery good thing for me. And apparently Tora (a.k.a. Ice, Guy Gardner's girl from JLI) is alive again too, which makes me SO deliriously happy I honestly can't stand it. But back to the Marvel/DC crossovers I insist on doing time and time again.

What can I say? These four are just so blatantly married, it's not even funny. There should just be a big ceremony, preferably in the Green Arrow/Black Canary wedding comic, where all our closeted DC gays just go to Canada and get it over with. I'm talking to you two, Harper, Grayson. And don't think I'm letting Vic and Gar get away, either. Nope, off to Canada, all of you! And to the rest of you, review!


End file.
